James Lindsey White
University of Akron
Inducted 2011
James Lindsay White (1938 – 2009), a pioneer in the field of plastics engineering research, was instrumental in establishing polymer processing as an academic discipline. His actual work provided a greater understanding of plastics engineering technologies and a base for refining polymer processing and developing enhanced plastic products.
White received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering, summa cum laude, from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now part of New York University). He completed his M.S. in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1965 while conducting chemical engineering research at the University of Delaware. White worked with Professor Arthur Metzner while at Delaware, co-authoring several papers together, including the now-famous White-Metzner rheological model still widely used for polymer processing simulation. White would develop more rheological models for viscoelastic fluids that permit the understanding and description of plastic melt flow for simulation and design.
White joined the University of Tennessee in 1967 as an associate professor and became a professor in 1970. In 1983, he moved to the University of Akron. Over a long, distinguished academic career, White became an internationally recognized authority on the processing (both physical and reactive) of plastics and other polymers. He did extensive research and publication on the compounding and properties of polymer blends and composites covering a wide range of materials and structures. White published more than 500 articles, seven books, and numerous book chapters and encyclopedia articles on these subjects.
White founded polymer engineering programs at the University of Tennessee and the University of Akron. During his faculty tenures at both universities, he advised more than 120 graduate students. He also founded the Polymer Processing Society, an international professional organization dedicated to advancing polymer processing technology through conferences and publications.
White launched two professional journals – the Journal of Polymer Engineering during his tenure at the University of Tennessee and the International Polymer Processing Journal while at the University of Akron – serving as editor of both.
Throughout his career, White was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Bingham Medal, Society of Rheology (1981); Yuko-Sho Award, Society of Rheology – Japan (1984); the Education Award (1987) and Research Award (192), Society of Plastics Engineers; and the Charles Goodyear Medal, Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (2009).
Areas of Expertise:
Plastics processing, Plastics materials, Plastics education